


Worth it

by Carolanneshirley



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alcohol, But I also make things up, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Friendship, I only do happy endings, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, POV Third Person, Real world curse words, Romance, Sassy Original Character, Sassy Poe Dameron, So much flirting, Star Wars Curse Words, Tropes, i did my research
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:53:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29707767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carolanneshirley/pseuds/Carolanneshirley
Summary: "Before he could even think, the decision was made and he was getting up. He walked to her and sat down in the copilots' chair and when Veeves finally looked up at him, he smiled gently. Her eyes were red, either from crying or lack of sleep. Probably both. Maker, she really needed to sleep. It wasn't lost on him that she had stayed awake almost every night the past week, hardly getting any rest. They held eye contact for a few seconds before Veeves offered him a weak smile and looked back at her datapad. At least she wasn't telling him to go jump in a sarlacc pit. He's take it for tonight. She would talk when she was ready. For now, he was just going to make sure she knew she wasn't alone."
Relationships: Amilyn Holdo & Original Character(s), Finn & Original Character(s), Kaydel Ko Connix & Original Character(s), Poe Dameron/Original Character(s), Poe Dameron/Original Female Character(s), Rey (Star Wars) & Original Character(s)
Kudos: 2





	1. Veeves

“Kriff!” A voice rang out as the sound of metal hit the ship’s floor with a tiny ‘clink’. Veeves, the owner of the voice, reached down and picked up the earring that had fallen, examining it again. She was trying to reattach a dangling chain that had a little metal bead, but it was proving to be an annoying task. She worked on it for a few more minutes until she whooped upon fixing the problem.

Veeves turned to the mirror to admire herself. She straightened up and smoothed her dress out. Time to get to work. She donned the pair of earrings she had been fixing and let her long black hair frame her face before she left her ship.

The high-end club she needed to get into wasn’t too far away, so she walked with confidence and approached the entrance. She only had to converse with the bouncer for a few moments before he let her in. _He must have a thing for Mirialans. Usually takes a little longer to get into places like this_ , she thought as the short hallway opened up into a laughter-filled room with drinks and music.

Veeves scanned the area quickly and made eye contact with a man across the room. She smiled shyly at him while she played with her necklace and he made his way towards her through the crowd. When he reached her, he offered her his hand and spoke.

“Would you like to come have a drink with me?” He asked with almost a twinkle in his eyes.

“Only if you’re ordering me meiloorun wine,” she bantered playfully, and the man’s smile grew.

“A fine person such as yourself should only be drinking the best.”

She slipped her hand into his. “Then by all means, lead the way.”

The man ordered her a glass of wine and led her to a secluded booth, sitting down and gesturing for her to join him. She slid into the seat next to him and took a sip of the wine that was quickly brought to her. Kriff was it good. Veeves turned to the man and looked at him, holding eye contact with him for a few seconds. He reached up and brushed her hair behind her ear and a smile spread across his face.

“You have what I’ve been looking for.” He said lowly and Veeves turned to take a sip of her wine again.

“Go ahead and take it,” she said with a cheeky grin and the man chuckled. He brushed her hair back again, gently pulling her earring out as he did, and then retracted his hand. She turned away to take a sip of wine again, letting her hair fall back over her ear to conceal the lack of earring. The man leaned in closer to her.

“You’ll find the payment already in your account,” he whispered into her ear and she smiled, turning to whisper back to him.

“Call me if you need another job done.”

The man nodded once, and she finished her glass of wine.

“Thanks for the drink,” she said as she stood up and sauntered out of the club, not bothering to look back as the man slipped the earring into his pocket.

Veeves slowly made her way down the streets back to her ship, trying to take in the sights without seeming too out of place.

Once she got to her ship, she climbed up the ramp and went to get ready for the night. As she got ready for bed, she thought over the job she had just completed, thinking about how utterly sneaky she was. The earring the man had taken had a small datachip hidden on it. She had found a while ago that it was much more discreet for someone to brush her hair back and take an earring than it was to try to palm it to them in a handshake or some other way. It only worked for small datachips, but information was valuable, and people paid for it to get to them quietly.

She had a moral compass of course. Just because she was a smuggler didn’t mean she made deals and took jobs from the cruel groups of people that littered the galaxy, and she certainly didn’t help the First Order. The man she had just met with was a Senator’s aid for a planet that was being threatened by a group of hostile planets in a nearby system. The senators’ people were being kidnapped and they had reached out to Veeves for help. The job had proven to be far easier than expected, which she decided to be thankful for. She had been tasked with gaining information on the group of planets’ next steps and future attacks and acquiring the information had only taken three days of sneaking around rather than the eight she had given herself. The bouncer had let her into the club almost immediately and she didn’t have to beat away unwanted attention. She really hoped they called her for a job again. Money from helping people was her favorite kind of money.

She was about to settle into bed to rest but before she could do so, she received an incoming holocall. From General Leia Organa.

“Veeves, how are you?”

A huge smile spread across Veeves’ face at the sound of Leia’s voice.

“I’m doing pretty great. Just finished a job. Is everything ok?” Veeves asked, suddenly a bit concerned. Leia sighed, shaking her head slightly.

“No. I’m calling to ask for your help. We can’t keep up with the First Order right now. They’ve been sending out more capital ships than ever and our numbers are falling. We need information. Locations of factories, ships, schematics, anything. Anything you can get your hands on, we need it. I even have a location for you to start with,” Leia almost sang the last bit and Veeves chuckled.

“You know I’d be happy to help you. After what you did for me when Han found me stranded, I’m your devoted servant,” Veeves ended playfully.

“It’s bit dangerous an-“ Leia began but she was cut off.

“You know that’s not an issue for me. I offered my help when you told me the Resistance was gaining traction and you said you would only call me if it was really important. You called. It’s important. I’m helping.”

The finality in her statement made Leia smile fondly. “Alright. I’ll send you coordinates to the base.”

“Why not just tell me where to go? I’m already close to the Core. I can get the information and be on my way in a week.”

“You need to come to base because I want to send someone with you.”

Veeves tried to argue but Leia held her hand up and she closed her mouth. “It’s too dangerous for me to feel comfortable sending you alone. I’ll be sending one of my pilots with you incase anything goes wrong,” Leia tried to make it sound like it wasn’t a big deal. Veeves reclined in her chair and thought the situation over for a second.

“This pilot, they’ll be in their own ship?”

“Yes,” Leia said as she tried to hide the upturn of her mouth. Veeves leaned forward and smiled wide at her friend.

“Send me those coordinates, General. I’ll see you soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone likes it, many more chapters to come. Having trouble with her name? Leaves, but with a V instead of an L. Thanks for reading!


	2. Meeting

Veeves puttered around her ship while it zipped through hyperspace. She had a couple more hours to kill, and she had already napped AND deep cleaned the controls dashboard. She was out of ideas. Flopping down into the pilots’ chair, she grabbed a datapad to get some research in on a job she was thinking of taking after she finished helping Leia.

Her life as a smuggler was certainly a bit different than others. Veeves specifically dealt with information and small but high value items. At first glance, one would suspect that she was after the money, and she was. She wouldn’t deny it. But there was more to it than that. There always was. She hadn’t started smuggling just to get rich. She sighed, thinking abo-

Her train of thought was disrupted by the alarm she had set earlier, letting her know she had an hour before she reached the planet the base was on.

Veeves decided to pull out something a bit nicer to wear while meeting with Leia, seeing as it had been over a year since the they had been on the same planet.

“Damn, has it really been a year?” she mumbled under her breath. She felt like a bad friend but reminded herself that Leia had been increasingly busy as well. Veeves decided to try to rectify the lack of contact by getting some quality time in with the woman who had saved her life once. She felt a wave of excitement rush through her as she readied herself, pulling her hair into a simple twisted bun.

Veeves looked herself over in the mirror and smiled at the way the dark blue silk dress complimented her green skin. She loved the way the body fit her perfectly while the long sleeves and skirt hung around her arms and legs loosely, flowing with every movement she made. She smoothed a stray wrinkle out and twirled once, giving herself a good look in the mirror.

For Veeves, dressing up was immensely enjoyable. Whether it was a gorgeous gown, badass stealth suit, or a casual outfit for a supply run, she loved it. It could feel like art sometimes, putting everything together and then seeing herself wear it.

Another alarm went off to let her know she had five more minutes before exiting lightspeed, so she sat down in her seat and slipped on her headset. When it was time, she left hyperspace and flew down toward the Resistance base.

“Wanderer to Base, this is Veeves here to meet with the General.”

There were a few moments of silence before a voice rang out in her ear. “Copy that Wanderer, bay two is open and there are spots to choose from. Come on in.”

She guided her ship (which she had affectionately dubbed The Wanderer when she first bought it) down and went through the landing process without incidence. After touchdown, she went through her post-flight checklist and felt relieved that she had changed before coming out of hyperspace. She knew the General would want to meet with her as soon as possible and taking the time to put on an intricate outfit after landing wasn’t very good time management.

When she was satisfied her ship was ready to be left alone , she tapped a key pad and walked down the extending ramp, taking in her surroundings.

The area of the planet the base was in was dusty and covered in brush, barely any trees in sight. When the air inside the hanger hit her, it felt dry and hot, making her skin practically itch. She was happy she wouldn’t be on base for too long.

She looked around, hoping to see an indication of where she could find the General when a blur of orange fell in front of her, just an inch or so away from hitting her. She yanked the hem of her dress back once she realized said blur of orange was a man in a pilots’ suit who was covered in grease and laughing at something or someone. He didn’t even look at her when he jumped up from the ground, calling back to his friends. _What the kriff! What a jerk!_ She thought to herself and glared at him. Before she could think, the words were out of her mouth.

“What the hell! You could have gotten grease on my dress. Do you know how much this is worth?” she growled out at him, finally catching his attention. His very annoyed attention.

“It’s a dress. Relax. Grease comes out of everything if you work hard enough at it,” he bit back, wrinkles between his brow as he looked down at her.

“Grease doesn’t just COME OUT of Mirialan silk!” her voices’ pitch rising in frustration.

“Well then maybe Miss Priss should go somewhere else where her fancy dress wont get dirty and I won’t have to deal with her stuck up attitude.” His arms were now crossed as he gave her an irritated look, obviously not thrilled with their conversation.

Veeves groaned loudly, spun around, and stormed away. She didn’t have time for some punk of a pilot, Leia needed to see her. She decided to focus on finding the General and went towards the busiest looking part of base, assuming she would be in the thick of whatever was going on.

“Damn, what’s her problem?”

The pilot who she had spoken to scoffed. “I’m not interested in finding out. C’mon, lets get these parts to my ship. I’ll get them replaced after my meeting with the General.”

\----

Poe strode into the command center to meet with the General. He knew he had a mission coming up and he knew he was going to have company on it. He just hoped it wasn’t…

Kriff.

“Ah, Poe,” Leia smiled as she turned to face him. “Just in time. This is Veeves. She’s your partner for the upcoming mission. She’s an expert when it comes to acquiring and smuggling data. I called her in specifically for that set of skills. Veeves. This is Poe Dameron. The best pilot in the Resistance.”

Poe could have groaned out loud with how bad his luck was turning out today. He was NOT thrilled about the developing situation and it seemed Veeves wasn’t either, as indicated by the scowl that graced her face. He mentally shook his head and decided to try to be civil in front of Leia.

He stuck his hand out and nodded at Veeves. “Hi, nice to meet you.”

Veeves took his hand and shook it once. “Dameron.”

Great. She still sounded mad. Wonderful. He just knew he wasn’t going to like working with her and he hoped that the mission didn’t take too long.

“Let me give you both a rundown of what’s going on,” Leia’s voice cut through his internal thoughts and he focused on her, one last thought lingering in his head.

_At least I’ll be in my own ship._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters will be much longer from here on out. This is set about five or six months before TFA. Thank you for reading!


	3. Veeves joins a secret club

Veeves practically stomped up the ramp of her ship after the meeting the General. And Poe Dameron. He just radiated cocky flyboy vibes and Veeves was hopeful that they wouldn’t have to speak to each other much. She grumbled as she changed and settled into her chair in the cockpit.

A few minutes passed and she leaned her head back and groaned. She had thought over everything and realized that she had been kind of a bitch. Which happened sometimes when she met people for the first time, especially if she was irritated. She had eloquently told Han Solo himself to take a wild karking guess when he had asked if she needed help getting to the nearest system when he had found her in the middle-of-nowhere space. And here she had done it again. She had barely given Poe the chance to take a breath before biting his head off, which probably explained why he looked as unhappy as she had during the meeting.

She threw her hair into a braid down her back and changed into something she could work on her ship in. she wanted to make sure her ship was in top form for the mission that they were leaving on. Two days was more than enough time to work on her ship but the sooner she got it done, the sooner she could relax. She knew she was allowed to ask one of the mechanics to look at it is she wanted to but she really didn’t feel like trying to interrupt one of them to do something she could do herself.

She exited the ship and was about to begin running diagnostics when a little orange and white droid whizzed up to her, beeping the entire time.

“Hello, little friend,” she practically cooed as she crouched down, and the droid beeped happily. “Did you need something, buddy?”

The droid rolled around and told her about how his friend was coming to the hanger and that she should come meet him since he was really cool and Veeves chuckled the entire time.

“BB-8?” a voice called out and Veeves froze. That sounded like…

“Poe?” she questioned as she turned around. And there he was, only ten feet away from her. They made eye contact as BB-8 chirped happily and rolled over to Poe. Veeves stood up straight and tried to read his face to see if he was still mad at her. This was a perfect time to try and fix whatever damage she had done to their acquaintanceship, she decided.

“Is that a YT-2400 Light Freighter?” he asked suddenly, looking up at her ship.

“Did you have to take a peek at the manifest or did you know that all by yourself?” she teased, trying to make it sound lighthearted to show she was joking around, although she had no idea how it would come across to him. Poe let out a small snort of laughter then gave her ship a once over again.

“You sure you’ll be able to keep up? What’s the hyperdrive rating on that thing anyways?” he practically chortled and her eyes narrowed at him a fraction but then she smirked.

“0.70.”

He actually looked impressed for a moment before he opened his dumb mouth.

“Mines’ 0.60. It’s ok if you need me to wait for you to catch up while on the mission. How fast does it even go normally? Should I ask Leia to give us an extra week?”

That cocky flyboy was starting to get on her nerves again. Of COURSE his stupid ship’s hyperdrive system just HAD to be better than hers. The Wanderer’s base hyperdrive rating was 2 and she knew his X-Wing’s base rating was 1, so of course it would be faster than hers after mods. Her consolation prize, she decided, was that her hyperdrive system was still superior based on percentages. Her ship _was_ easier to mod, but she wasn’t going to let that little fact get her down.

She crossed her arms and gave him a look, causing him to chuckle again. Just as Veeves thought she had smoothed the way for her to apologize for earlier, Poe’s face turned to a hard frown as he glanced back behind him and turned away from her completely.

“I gotta go. I have a flight to make in a few,” he said stiffly as he walked off and started yelling at someone to get away from…well, something. Veeves wasn’t exactly paying attention at that point, a tiny bit thrown off by the sudden change in his demeanor. She looked at BB-8.

“Is that normal?” she asked, and BB-8 seemed to think he usually got like that when someone was trying to mess with his stuff and that he should probably go check on him. “See you later, little friend,” she called after him and he beeped a goodbye as he disappeared into the hanger, leaving Veeves to turn back to running her ships’ diagnostics.

\----

The next day, Veeves spend most of her time in her ship. She decided to use that time to read up a bit more on what Leia had in mind for the mission. She told Veeves that they would take anything she could get for them, but Leia had also mentioned a shipping yard that the First Order used. She had asked Veeves to focus on that if she could but if she had no luck there, she should look for anything else.

Veeves had a plan, of course. She sent out a message to a couple of her allies to see if they had any tips to point her in the right direction or if they had any other information she could use. Once she had sent the messages, it was time to do some research. She found that the shipping yard was more like a city in her opinion and she was thankful she wouldn’t have to go there. It looked like it would have been hell to navigate. All she was doing was finding a way to get the intel and getting it to Leia.

Veeves sifted through all the information she could find on the shipping yard. She found that a couple of guards who used to work at the shipping yard were now in prison somewhere. She tabbed that and kept reading. An article mentioned the head of security would throw parties often. That could work. She tabbed it and continued reading on.

After a couple of hours had passed, she had tabbed a sufficient number of interesting things and had put together a folder of information she might be able to use. She was bored from all the reading though and decided that it was a good time for a break.

She and Poe were leaving the next day and it was getting closer to evening faster than she had expected. She stretched and decided to see if there was anything interesting to eat in the mess hall. She was a social person once she knew people, but she had always had difficulty introducing herself to them. So, she had stayed in her ship during the first two meals of the day and just ate the rest of the fresh food she had bought on her last supply run before it went bad. She was out of fruit though, which is what she was hungry for, so the mess hall would have to do.

Still in her lounging clothes, she changed into something more appropriate for wandering around a military base and pulled on her boots before heading down the ramp and towards the smell of food.

The mess hall was bubbling with activity during the busiest meal of the day and she made her way towards the food and picked the freshest looking option. She made her way to a table and was about to sit down when she heard a voice ring out.

“Veeves!”

A bit startled from hearing her name, she looked up to find a woman a little younger than her waving for her to come join the small group she was sitting with. Veeves made her way to the table and smiled as the woman who had called her over patted a spot next to her. Veeves gratefully sat down and greeted everyone at the table.

“Hey, my name’s Kaydel. This is Lissa and Jen,” Kaydel introduced the two others and they both greeted Veeves kindly. “Sorry for just calling you over randomly. We didn’t want you to sit by yourself during your first real day on base. The General told me your name,” Kaydel explained and Veeves felt touched that these strangers thought to call her over.

“I appreciate that guys, thanks,” she replied with a genuine smile. “What do you guys do around here?”

Lissa spoke up and explained that she worked in the command center on base and Kaydel was working on getting trained up for that too. Jen was a mechanic and asked Veeves a couple questions about her ship before the group moved on to other topics.

Veeves laughed and chatted with her new friends and as they all began finishing their dinners, Lissa leaned in and suggested they all go get drunk since Veeves had a big mission tomorrow. Jen, who was Lissa’s roommate, mentioned the secret alcohol stash that the three of them had and Veeves thought that she already couldn’t wait to get back from the mission so she could hang out with them again.

The four women finished their food and headed to Jena and Lissa’s room. They all chatted and laughed as Jen pulled a box out from under her bunk.

“What’s your choice, Veeves? We have wine, a half-finished bottle of whiskey, and some spotchka.”

“Oh, whiskey, definitely,” she replied almost immediately, and the other women laughed. Once the bottle was opened and a generous amount poured into four empty caf mugs, Veeves’ three new friends began filling her in on all the gossip around base.

“I swear! I heard that he said that!”

“No way! That’s got to be made up. I mean, really? ‘Leia’s like a mom to me, I’m going to ask her to adopt me.’ There’s no way Poe actually said that” Kaydel huffed and crossed her arms.

“Where did you even hear that from, Jen?” Lissa practically shrieked with laughter.

“Reggie told me.”

“Reggie, as in, Poe’s best friend Reggie? Uh, yeah, he made that up. Poe didn’t say that.”

Veeves laughed so hard she could barely breathe as the three women argued about the validity of a rumor Jen had heard a couple days ago.

They had all finished their drinks ten minutes ago and were nursing mugs of water before starting in on their second drink. Well, more like their third or fourth with how much Lissa poured the first time. They were all sufficiently giggle-drunk and were cackling at the funnier things they had heard people say around base. Veeves felt like she had been hanging out with them for half her life and she hoped that she’d have the chance to have a night like this with them again sometime soon, considering she hadn’t had the time for real friends in eleven years.

They gulped down the rest of their water and excitedly poured themselves some more whiskey, all happy to keep the night going. Veeves took a sip of her booze and sighed, happy to be drinking with friends. _Drinking…_ she thought. _This is a secret stash._ She sat up suddenly and looked at the other women.

“Are you not allowed to have alcohol on base? You said this was a secret stash,” she asked, wondering if she needed to hide her own stash of alcohol on her ship. Kaydel chuckled and shook her head.

“No no, you’re allowed to have alcohol on base, we just thought it would be fun to have a secret,” she explained and the women laughed.

“We like to get together and drink and relax when we can. It’s like a secret club,” Jen giggled and the others nodded.

“You guys, it’s exactly a secret club,” Lissa said seriously and they all dissolved into giggles again, joking about how important their secret club was. Veeves promised she would bring a bottle of something for the next time they got together

After they had finished drinking for the night, they checked the time and realized how late it was. Almost 2 in the morning. Thank goodness Veeves didn’t have to leave until after lunch. She would have plenty of time to sleep in.

Jen and Lissa wouldn’t hear of Veeves and Kaydel walking to their respective rooms by themselves, so they all drunkenly put shoes on and threw jackets at each other to walk them back for the night. Veeves was the first stop, so they made their way towards her ship. Kaydel linked her arm with Veeves and Lissa and Jen did the same as they walked down the halls, trying to whisper and giggle as quietly as possible.

Once they reached the hanger, they let themselves talk a bit louder.

“Oh my gosh Veeves, I can’t wait for you to get back from your trip,” Jen said as they all hugged her goodnight.

Ugh, me neither,” Lissa groaned as Veeves let down the ramp.

“Sleep well, girl. We’ll see you tomorrow, probably at lunch because I’m not waking up any earlier than I have to,” Kaydel joked and they all laughed.

“Sleep well too you guys. Tonight was so much fun,” Veeves said and they all hugged again. The three women left as Veeves walked up the ramp of her ship to go straight to bed.

\----

Poe had found a few issues with the ship he was going to be using tomorrow. It wasn’t his usual X-Wing, so he wanted to check it over before they left, and he was happy he did. He had a long list of things that needed to be fixed or tweaked, and he wanted to see exactly what this ships’ hyperdrive rating was. After rubbing it in Veeves’ face yesterday, Leia had informed him that he would be taking a different ship to keep them both from being spotted right away.

The screen on the ship blinked _0.75_ and Poe had cursed up a storm. He didn’t have the time to modify anything and there was no way he was telling Vee-HER the hyperdrive rating, so he pushed it out of his mind and had gotten to work on his list.

At about 2:30 in the morning, Poe was still working on his ship along with a couple other night owls who were working on one thing or another. The hanger was relatively silent except for the sound of the few people working, all of them enjoying the quiet. Until the silence was broken by giggles bouncing off the walls to alert them of someone else’s presence. He stayed out of sight and didn’t stop working but kept his ears open. He recognized Kaydel’s and Jen’s voice. Then Lissa. Then he picked up another.

Veeves.

So, she was hanging out with them. And getting drunk by the sounds of their laughter and conversation. _At least she could have fun._ Poe smiled a bit as he continued his work and once he heard the ramp to her ship close, he let out a sigh he didn’t know was waiting to escape.

He couldn’t really tell the difference between the first three women’s laughter. But he picked Veeves’ out almost instantly. If he were less tired, he would have questioned that thought, especially since he had never actually heard her laugh. But seeing as he was exhausted, the idea that he could tell it was her seemed like a fairly normal thought.

He wrapped up his list for the night and hopped down to head to his room. He threw a glance at Veeves’ ship and smiled lightly again before heading to bed to get some sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had fun looking into hyperdrive ratings. The Falcon has a modded rating of 0.50 so it's bonkers fast. 0.70 and 0.60 aren't too crazy in terms of modded ships so they're pretty accurate representations of what their ships could actually have as hyperdrive ratings. Thanks for reading!


	4. And there was only one bedroom

The next morning, Veeves blinked her eyes open slowly and laid still for a few minutes. She wasn’t _hungover_ per se, but she knew she would be tired for the remainder of the day, which she would take over having a headache. Thank goodness she thought to shove some food into her mouth before she went to sleep last night. She let herself wake up a bit more before checking the time. 11:06, just before lunch, not too bad. She rolled out of bed and went to the fresher to get ready for the day, thinking about what she would do until it was time to leave. Probably grab something to eat and do some last-minute ship checks. She got dressed so she could go find some food and made her way to the mess hall.

Once she had her food, she scanned everyone’s faces to find her friends. Her eyes lingered on Poe for a moment, wondering if he was ready for their mission. She blinked and moved on quickly before she spotted Kaydel and Jen eating lunch. Veeves made her way over to them and sat down.

“Hey guys, everyone doing good this morning?” she asked, making Jen groan and laugh.

“Well, you and Kay got to sleep in. I had to haul my ass out of bed two hours after I finally got to sleep,” Jen grumbled and pouted as took a bite of food and the other two laughed.

“Did Lissa have to wake up early too?” Veeves thought out loud as she ate her food and Jen shrugged, mouth still full so Kaydel spoke up.

“Sort of. She’s been in the command room for a couple hours and she’s stuck there for right now. I hear it’s a busy day. There’s a squad coming back ten minutes after you leave and there’s another group who needs minute-by-minute guidance for a mission,” she explained and Veeves nodded. The three women chatted over lunch and when they were done, Jen and Veeves walked back towards her ship together.

“I was so excited when I saw I was assigned to your ship!” Jen had said and Veeves had heartily agreed, happy that her friend was the mechanic who would give her ship the ok to run the mission.

Poe had finished his lunch early she guessed since he was already by his ship in his flight suit, crouching down to talk to BB-8. Poe glanced up and they made eye contact. Poe nodded at her and she returned the gesture with a small smile before they both turned back towards their own work.

Jen and Veeves had a blast talking and working out the last few things Jen thought could use a bit more work and when they were done, the two women hugged, and the mechanic trotted off to let her boss know The Wanderer was ready to go.

A few minutes later, Veeves saw the General walking towards her. Poe saw this too and walked over to meet the two of them.

“I expect to see the both of you back in one piece very soon,” Leia said sternly but with kindness, causing Veeves and Poe to smile and nod. She waved them off and they both entered their respective ships. The ships roared to life and they took off, leaving the base behind them.

Poe sent her the coordinates for their lightspeed trip and after a few moments of messing with her nav computer, they jumped into hyperspace.

After a few minutes of silence, Poe’s voice crackled through her headset. “Everything good on your end?”

“Yep, and you.”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before he spoke up again. “You’ve been making friends pretty quickly,” he observed, and she could tell he was just trying to ease the tension. She let out a single laugh.

“They kind of decided I was their friend for me,” she replied, and Poe chuckled.

“You’d be hard pressed to find a better group of people,” he said, and she smiled.

“Copy that. I’m going to get some work done. Comm me if something comes up.”

“Same to you.”

The silence that followed was, thankfully, nowhere near as awkward as the first few minutes were.

Veeves spent the next two hours reading up on the shipping yard, since it was the only real starting point she had at the moment. She took notes of who ran the place and what kind of things they shipped. She discovered that not only did they move a lot of weapons through, but they also moved expensive ship parts. If the Resistance could get ahold of some of the things this place had, well, they’d be able to stunt the boom in First Order capital ships. Or more. The more Veeves read, the more it became clear to her how vital it was to get any information they could. She checked to see if her contacts had replied to her messages she sent yesterday. None so far, but that wasn’t uncommon. Sometimes, it could take up to two weeks for someone to get back to her, so she decided to just check back later.

As she was looking through a news article for the third time, Poe commed her.

“So how exactly are we gonna be breaking into this shipping yard?” He asked as his voice rang through her headset.

“ _We_ won’t. _We_ will be finding as much intel on this place as we can. Codes, scheduling, staff. Anything the Resistance can use to get into this place, steal a bunch of stuff, and light it up. We aren’t even going to the planet that the shipping yard is on. You know that.”

“No unplanned detour? I can make it look totally accidental. We won’t even get in trouble for it.”

There were a few beats of silence before she heard him speak again.

“Veeves?”

“Yeah, I’m still here, I just wasn’t going to dignify that with an answer.”

She heard Poe scoff and she snickered.

“You’re no fun,” he said, and she could just picture him grumpily crossing his arms.

“I’m just interested in doing what the General told us to do,” she pointed out and he was quiet for a moment before he mumbled something that sounded like ‘fine’ and ‘boring’ and she rolled her eyes.

An hour later, her datapad pinged to alert her of an incoming message. She read over it quickly and opened her notes she had taken before. Perfect! A connection. She turned headset on to talk to Poe.

“Dameron.”

“Yep,” he responded almost immediately.

“The General told me to let you in on my plans.”

“Fire away.”

“There’s this rich bigwig who’s head of security there. He’s having some stupid investors party tomorrow on the planet’s moon. I’ll sneak into that, get into a room with a computer, download all his files, and get out.” Once she had said it out loud, it sounded like a hastily thrown together plan, but she had more than enough time to work on it.

Poe didn’t say anything for a moment, but when he did, he didn’t sound too thrilled. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna work.”

Veeves rolled her eyes. “Why not?”

“That’s a recipe for disaster. You’ll get caught.”

She scoffed at his sureness of her failure. “Have some faith, I’ve done things like this before.”

“Not with anyone from the First Order. What if you DO get caught?” He let the meaning of his words sink in. If she gets caught, she’s dead. But she already knew that.

“If the intel on this place is is as good as I think it’ll be, getting caught is a risk worth taking,” she countered, hoping he would let it go.

“I don’t like it,” he said in a way that made it sound like he thought it would change the situation.

“That’s your problem,” she shot back and crossed her arms, getting a bit irritated.

“Can we at least compromise? I can come with you and get you out of there if something happens,” he suggested, being just as stubborn as she was. She thought for a moment.

“Negative. It’s the First Order. You said so yourself. They probably know who you are. I’ve never tangled with them before, so I’ll be able to fly under their radar. Besides, I have to be alone to get into this party.”

“Why?” he shot back, his voice sounding more and more irritated.

“Because I usually flirt my way into places like this and I can’t do that if I have arm candy.”

The moment it was out of her mouth, she just knew he was going to say something.

“You think I’m arm candy?” he said in the smuggest voice possible and Veeves cursed under her breath, making him laugh.

“Why am I not surprised that’s what you chose to focus on,” she grumbled.

“Because it’s the only thing you’ve said so far that makes sense,” he countered, and she groaned.

“Look, I’m not going to argue with you about it. I’d going to do this and if I can’t get in, we’ll figure something else out.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.”

“I’ll be fine, Poe. Drop it, ok?”

“Fine,” he clipped and shut the comms connection off.

Veeves was frustrated. She knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to simmer in it, so she found a snack and curled up in the pilots’ chair, hoping the food might improve her mood. It had been four hours since they left base. It simultaneously felt like ages and no time at all.

She thought about the little argument they just had. Yes, he was being nice by being concerned and trying to help, but she had told him the reasons why he couldn’t, and he still pushed it. She just needed him to back down so she could do her job. She drank her tea slowly, the last few sips ending up cold, but she didn’t mind. What she did mind was Poe not trusting her to handle this alone.

\---

She was cleaning her mug when Poe commed her.

“Veeves.”

“What.”

“I’m bored.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re a pilot. How can you be bored in hyperspace? Figure something out.”

She heard him scoff. “Easy for you to say, you’re in a freighter. I’m in an X-Wing.”

“Ugh, fine. What do you want to talk about?”

Poe didn’t respond so she waited, and when he still hadn’t said anything, she spoke again. “Poe?”

“Yeah, trying to think of something. I didn’t expect to get this far.”

She chuckled, realizing he had pulled the same kind of joke on her that she had on him earlier and he laughed with her. “Ok, how about you tell me about your squad. Leia mentioned you were a commander.”

Poe launched into detailed descriptions of the people he had been working closest with, focusing on things like who was best at what flight maneuvers and what everyone’s personalities were like.

“Reggie’s been with me the longest. X’anna and Tavesh are the newest but they’ve got good spirit. We’re happy to have them,” he ended his near ten-minute-long rant about his team and Veeves made the appropriate responses at the right times. He seemed happy to be talking about his friends and Veeves was fine with letting him. She had found him annoying, but she could also see why people at base seemed to like him so much. He really did seem like a nice person, and she just couldn’t have kept her mouth shut if she tried. She made a face as she thought about when they met again. She would apologize tonight, she decided, preferring to do it in person.

Veeves heard him say something that sounded like a question. “What was that?” she asked, and there was a pause.

“I said, what about you? Do you work with anyone?”

Even though she knew he couldn’t see her, she shrugged. “Not really. I have a…handler? A base command, I guess. I TALK to them a lot, but I don’t really work with them. Sometimes I work with someone for a job but that’s about it.”

He hummed in response and was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. “Must be lonely.”

“It can be, but I make do.”

He hummed again and they fell into a few moments of silence. Veeves was about to say something when he beat her to it.

“What are we supposed to do between landing and this party you’re going to?” Poe asked her, wondering if there was anything else they needed to do before the big show.

“I’ll probably be doing more research and planning. You can do whatever to keep yourself entertained.”

“I’ll probably settle for annoying you while you research.”

Veeves groaned out load and Poe laughed.

“You trying to get a head start?” she snarked at him playfully.

“Oooh, ok, ok,” he laughed back even more. “And here I thought you thought I was arm candy.”

“Being arm candy doesn’t automatically make you the Force’s gift to the Galaxy.”

“It doesn’t, but now that you mention it, I AM the Force’s gift to the Galaxy, aren’t I?” he joked and Veeves let a laugh out. Secretly, Poe was thrilled that he had been making her laugh so much. He told himself it was because he was happy that they were getting along better than before, but the real reason was still there, hiding behind his denial. It would stay there if he just ignored it, right?

“If that’s what helps you sleep at night,” she teased and they laughed as they fell into sporadic conversations, not talking for a few minutes and then speaking again for a bit before falling silent again.

\----

A couple hours later, they exited hyperspace and made their way towards the city the party would be in. Thankfully, it was nighttime where they landed so they were able to use the cover of darkness to find an out-of-the-way place to land.

Poe exited his ship and he and BB-8 made their way towards The Wanderer. Veeves let down the ramp for them to come inside and when the ramp was closed, she half-smiled awkwardly at him.

“We’re going to have to stay on the ship until the party so I won’t be recognized in any way when I get there. So dinner’s in here,” she said a bit hesitantly, hoping it wouldn’t bother him too much. They didn’t need to be mad at each other about everything.

“That’s fine by me. Ship food ain’t that bad,” he said casually as he looked around her ship, taking it in for the first time. Veeves had taken detailed patterned fabrics and had strategically hung them all up to cover the parts of the ship that were too bland for her taste. There were even a couple pieces of artwork attached to wall panels securely enough to stay on during rough flight. It was one of the most colorful ship interiors he had seen in a long time. She had obviously tried to make her ship feel as much like a home as she could.

“Do you drink tea?” her voice broke through his thoughts and he looked at her. She was holding two empty caf mugs and waiting for an answer.

“Sure.”

“Fresher’s in there if you need it,” she said, gesturing to a door and Poe nodded.

“Oh yeah, thanks,” he said as he slung the bag he brought with him over his shoulder and glanced at BB-8. "Don't get into too much trouble, ok buddy?" He joked with a wink to the droid and went into the refresher.

Once the door was closed, Veeves opened up the small kitchen she had on the ship and began putting a dinner together. BB-8 rolled up to her and told her he would never cause her trouble and she laughed. 

"Thanks, bud. I bet Poe's the troublemaker out of you two, isn't he?" She asked as she pulled out a couple of bowls. BB-8 chirped out that she had no idea how right she was. _This droid was adorable_ , she thought to herself. BB-8 chirped and asked her if he could look around the ship and she told him he could go wherever he wanted. He beeped happily as he rolled off, in search of what, she didn't know.

There was a small table with benches on the ship where Veeves would sometimes eat if someone was on board with her, so that’s where she set their food when she was done. She was grabbing some spoons when Poe walked out of the refresher, having changed out of his flight suit and washed his face she guessed since his hair was wet around the edges now. He glanced around.

"My droid?" He asked casually and she gestured down towards the way the little guy had went.

"Exploring the ship," she explained and he nodded.

She set the spoons out on the table and poured them both tea before sitting down and Poe followed suit, sitting across from her.

“Thanks. Smells good,” he said before he started eating and Veeves smiled at the small compliment.

“Good.”

They both ate silently for a few minutes before Veeves felt comfortable enough to start her apology.

“Look, Poe,” she started, and he looked up and raised his eyebrows at her to indicate that he was listening. “About in the hanger when I first arrived at base. I’m sorry about being…such a bitch,” she apologized and chuckled nervously. “The dress was my mom’s. It’s not the only thing I have left of her but it’s the only thing of hers that I carry with me.” She had grown quieter as she spoke, hoping the explanation might help ease any irritation he still had for her. Poe smiled.

“I get it. It’s ok,” he said as tried to sound reassuring and pulled out a ring on a chain around his neck to show her. “This was my mom’s. I wear it to remember what she fought for, what she believed in. Makes me fight that much harder.” He smiled again and took a sip of his tea. “If something happened to it, I’d be pretty upset, so I get it. Don’t worry about it.”

Veeves smiled and nodded, relieved they weren’t as at odds with each other as before. They finished eating and as she was about to grab her bowl, Poe picked it up and was already standing up.

“Here, let me clean,” he said as he grabbed the mugs and walked to the small kitchen.

“Thanks.”

He smiled. “No problem.”

As she wiped the table down, she glanced at him. “So, The Wanderer only has one crew room, so you can sleep out here on the benches, or you can take the spare bunk in my room,” she told him, and he glanced at one of the benches, grimacing as he remembered that it wasn’t the most comfortable thing to sit on.

“Yeah, I’ll take the bed,” he grumbled and Veeves laughed.

“Smart choice, the benches are the worst,” she threw over her shoulder as she made her way to her bedroom.

When she had first bought The Wanderer, the crew room had six folding bunks in it and Veeves had taken out all but two, keeping one folded up to the wall. She had been using a bright purple patterned wall tapestry to cover the bunk, so she took that down, folded it up, and tossed it onto her own bed. She pulled out a small pile of fabric and unfolded some clean sheets and started putting them on the bunk when Poe came and stood in the doorway.

“I thought most light freighters had more than one crew cabin.”

“They usually do, but the YT-2400 sacrifices a lot of living space for extra cargo room,” she explained, always happy to talk about her ship. She finished making the bed and unfolded another heavy piece of fabric, a curtain.

“I thought you didn’t haul cargo,” he mused and she smiled as she began hanging the fabric up down the middle of the room, intending to give them both some semblance of privacy.

“I don’t. But when people inspect my ship, they don’t know that. They just look and see the big empty holds and wave me along when more often than not, I’m wearing what I’m smuggling,” she said as she finished hanging the curtain up and Poe took a few steps back so she could leave the room. He leaned against one of the ship’s walls and thought a moment.

“So, is that why you bought it?” he asked and Veeves laughed, shaking her head.

“No, when I went to buy a ship, I just said I wanted a freighter I could pilot alone and they said this was in my price range, so I bought it.”

His facial expression didn’t change in the slightest, but she knew what he was thinking.

“I can feel you silently judging me for not ship researching. In my defense, I was only 18 when I bought her, so stupidness kind of came with the territory,” she explained, and Poe snickered.

“Ok, slightly less judgement now,” he conceded and they both laughed.

“I’m going to make some more tea, want any?”

“You really like tea.”

“You’re really observant,” Veeves joked and he laughed along with her, following her and sitting down at the table. “Yeah, I do like tea. I’ve always loved plants and tea came hand in hand with that once I got a bit older. I drink all kinds of tea now for different things. Like calming my nerves or,” she held up her fresh mug of hot tea “this is to help me sleep.”

Poe nodded. “That’s a good idea actually. I’ll take some if there’s any left,” he said with a smile and she poured him a mug.

They sat in silence again, neither in any real rush to finish. It wasn’t like they had anything important to do that night, so they took their time and made casual conversation until they finished drinking. Veeves stood up to clean the mugs when Poe stopped her.

“Look, just-“ he plucked the mugs out of her hands, “-assume I’m gonna be cleaning from now on, ok?” he quipped and shot her a smile as he went to put everything away. She held her hands up in mock surrender and he chuckled.

“Well then, while you do that, I’m going to get ready for bed,” she said, and he nodded so she went to her room and grabbed some warmer sleeping clothes and she headed into the refresher to take a quick shower. She wanted to wash off the lingering space-travel feeling she always got when she had to make long trips. It was the main reason she decided to have the sonic removed and a water shower installed. The little comforts she had on the ship made all of that lonely traveling a lot easier on her morale, but if she was honest, she was getting tired of constantly being on the move. She HAD essentially been living in a metal box for the past eleven years. _Base wasn’t so bad_ , a little voice whispered to her and she let the thought play around in her head. A week of rest wouldn’t hurt, right?

When she finished changing after her shower, she left the refresher and Poe stood up his spot at the table and grabbed his bag. She smiled at him as he walked past her, and he returned it.

A few moments after the door slid closed, BB-8 rolled up to her and asked her where he could sleep. She smiled fondly at him and gave his head a pat again. "You just pick a spot, little one," she told him and he beeped out something about knowing the perfect place to sleep as he rolled down the hall towards the cockpit and she giggled. She picked up her holopad and sat at the edge of one of the benches to go over what she had read that day. As she read, she found her thoughts wandering and her face grew warm as she thought about going to sleep tonight.

_It’s just Poe. Relax. Don’t make it weird. You’ve had people sleep in your bedroom with you before. This is just like those times, it’s no big deal._

She continued reading and just as she finished the last bit of notes, Poe walked out and put his bag under the bench where he had left it before. She looked him over quickly and felt her face warming up again. His hair was damp and his sleep clothes w-

 _Not one more thought!_ She practically screamed at herself in her head. She was NOT going there. She stood up and Poe checked the time.

“Been a long day,” he commented, and she nodded tiredly.

“Yeah.”

"BB-8?"

"In the cockpit for the night I think."

Both of them were tired enough that they didn’t need to say anything to know it was time to go to sleep. 

Veeves pulled the curtain back and was about to let it fall closed behind her when she turned around.

“Hey, I have to walk through here to get to the fresher so don’t get freaked out if I have to come through here in the middle of the night,” she said, and Poe chuckled, pulling the blanket down and sitting on the bunk.

“I won’t try to punch you, I promise,” he teased and she laughed.

“You’re too kind.”

They smiled at each other for a couple seconds longer before Veeves spoke.

“Night. Sleep well.”

“You too, Veeves,” he spoke quietly, and she smiled once more before letting the curtain close. She crawled into bed and pulled her favorite blanket up and around her shoulders. She let her thoughts run through her mind for a few minutes before she pushed them aside and let herself fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About her ship. When I first started writing this, I found a list of ships that could be piloted by one person. I found the first light freighter I saw and picked it for her. Once I picked it, then I started researching it. I wanted to really make her ship a random choice so I made it one. It was pretty fun that way.  
> Also, I couldn't seem to find any 'official' interior schematics for the YT-2400 so I've made a couple of creative decisions. I figured one crew cabin made sense since the YT-2400 really was designed with less living space to have a bigger cargo hold.  
> Hope you liked it! Also, I forgot part way through that BB-8 was there. Added him in. I won't forget him again, promise!


	5. In which our heroes are bored even more so than last chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did some editing to all chapters to fix typing mistakes.

Veeves woke up in the morning and rubbed her face before sitting up, groaning the whole time. She was NOT ready to be awake. After a moment of sitting in her bed, she let her eyes open slowly and she saw that she had put the curtains up. Why would she have done that? Oh. Poe. Kriff! She hoped she hadn’t woken him. She pulled the curtains back and saw the other bed empty. She let out a tiny sigh of relief and laid back down for a few more minutes. She had the time.

Once she felt awake enough to think properly, the rumbling from her stomach indicated that food needed to be a priority, so she rolled out of bed and made her way to the kitchen. She could hear Poe in the refresher, so she continued on her quest to find something to eat, preferably something she didn’t have to cook. BB-8 beeped a good morning to her as she sat down, giving his head a sleepy, affectionate pat.

Poe found her sitting at the table with the same bowl of fresh fruit from last night in front of her. She was eating slowly, still a bit drowsy, when she noticed him.

“Eat whatever. I’m just eating fruit. You can cook if you want,” she said absently, waving towards the tiny kitchen area.

“Ok,” he replied simply, letting her focus on eating and waking up. _She must not be a morning person,_ he thought to himself.

Poe shuffled around behind her for a few minutes, replying to BB-8’s questions and comments, before he sat down across from her with a simple breakfast and picked a piece of fruit from the bowl. They ate in silence and after a bit, the food had woken Veeves up fully.

“I’m going to get ready for the day,” she mumbled as she stood up and Poe only nodded, mouth full of food.

After she used the fresher and got changed, she wandered out and found Poe, who had finished eating and was cleaning up.

“The cockpit is the only other good place to sit on the ship so I’m going in there to research a bit more. Do you need anything before I get too involved in reading?” She asked and he shook his head.

“Not that I can think of. I’ll keep myself busy out here, and BB-8 is good company,” he replied, and the little droid let out an appreciative string of beeps, making Poe and Veeves smile.

“Well let me know if something comes up,” she said and she turned to head towards to cockpit.

\----

Veeves had been researching for a couple of hours when she started to really lose focus. Maker, she was bored. She wondered if Poe was having the same issue. Probably. She decided that it was time for a break. Just as she was setting her holopad down, she heard Poe walk into the cockpit.

“I’m bored,” he announced to the room and the two of them looked at each other for a moment until Veeves rolled her eyes and slapped her hands down on her knees, leaning forward a bit.

“I love how you just announce that and look at me like I’m supposed to start a comedy routine or something,” she said with a hint of amusement lacing her tone.

“I mean, I wouldn’t complain or anything if you did,” he teased and Veeves narrowed her eyes at him.

“Watch it, Dameron.”

“Ok, ok, ok,” he said as he held his hands up and they were silent for a moment. “Maybe just one joke?”

Poe laughed as Veeves threw a wrapped food bar at him, laughing even harder when she missed him. Veeves groaned and stood up, stomping past him and down the hall.

“Hey wait, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to make you mad. Veeves, wait,” he called after her, following her until she entered her room. A moment later, she came back out and pointed at one of the benches at the table.

“Sit,” she clipped.

“Alright, alright, I’m sitting,” he grumbled and plopped down while Veeves sat across from him.

She began shuffling a deck of cards. Poe blinked at the deck then looked back up at her and she shrugged.

“My brain was starting to hurt from staring at my holopad for that long anyways,” she tried to sound casual as she explained.

“Ok,” he chuckled, and she shot him a mock glare.

They started playing a game and as Poe looked at his hand, he saw the deck was well-loved. He guessed that she played a lot.

“You like playing cards?” He asked, making conversation.

“There are a few games you can play by yourself, but it’s more fun with friends,” she said as they played, not taking her eyes off the cards.

Poe raised an eyebrow at that comment. “Are we friends now?”

“Are we?” She countered, giving him a sly look paired with a small smirk.

He pretended to think for a moment, but he already knew the answer. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Ok, good. Then you won’t hold it against me when I crush you this round.” The smirk spread wider across her face and Poe laughed at her trash talk.

“Big words for a…” he trailed off as she laid her hand down to reveal that she was, in fact, about to crush him. “Kriff.”

It was Veeves’ turn to laugh and Poe grumpily shuffled the deck. They played a few more rounds before Poe showed her how to play a game his dad had taught him.

They played different games for an hour, talking and laughing. Somewhere along the way, Veeves had pulled out that bowl of fruit she always had around and had set it on the table.

“Hard to pick just one,” he mused at one point as he looked at the variety in the bowl, tempted to grab a few different kinds.

“Fruit is my favorite. Every chance I get, I find whatever’s local and stock up and snack on it until I run out. Better to eat it now than let it go bad, have as much as you want,” she encouraged as she drew another card from the deck.

He didn’t need to be told twice. He picked one that he hadn’t tried yet and one he had last night that he had enjoyed immensely. “Thanks. I think I could never live without fruit, but I’d never say no to a good sandwich. Bread, filling, bread. It’s perfect. Everything is good in a sandwich.”

“Even fruit,” Veeves said and Poe pointed at the bowl excitedly.

“Even fruit! You can put anything in sandwiches. See? Best food ever,” he said triumphantly and they both laughed as they finished the round they were playing.

“One more, or you got some stuff to do?” He asked so Veeves checked the time and grumbled.

“I need to get some more planning done for tonight,” she sighed as she stood up, a bit disappointed that the time had gone by so fast.

“Sure. I’ll play a card game with BB-8,” he replied, and the little droid let out a rapid string of beeps as he rolled over to Poe quickly, excited about trying a game out.

“Don’t let him beat you too bad. Can’t take too much more of it I would think,” she teased.

“Hey, it was only a couple of the games we played I couldn’t get the hang of,” he said as he sat down on the floor and started setting up a game for him and BB-8 to play. She recognized it as one that he was particularly good at and she snickered.

“I see you’re already steering clear of those ones,” she teased, and he shot her a playful glare.

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled, and she laughed, turning to go find her holopad.

Once it was in her hands, she returned to the living area and settled onto one of the benches. Poe looked up at her from his hand of cards and raised an eyebrow at her and she shrugged.

“I wanna watch him kick your ass,” she said simply, and Poe let out a ‘Hey!’ in response. “Get to work, Dameron. It’s _your_ turn to entertain me.”

“You know, earlier, I asked for a comedy routine and you said no. Why are you giving me one now? Cause that was hilarious,” his voice dripped with sarcasm as he spoke and Veeves couldn’t help but laugh. Poe tried to keep a smile off his face, but it was there anyways, and they both chuckled a bit before turning their focuses back to their separate tasks.

\----

After an hour of watching Poe and BB-8 play card games and not getting any real work done, Veeves begrudgingly decided she needed to find a quieter place to focus. She told Poe that she was moving to the cockpit and he nodded, glancing up at her and then back to the cards in his hand. BB-8 was a formidable opponent and Veeves planned on making Poe let her play against the droid later, but she really needed to make sure she was ready for whatever happened.

She flopped down into the pilots’ chair and grabbed the heavy blanket she kept in the cockpit, wrapping it around her shoulders. She let herself think while she searched for any extra information she could use to make tonight run smoother. What she really needed to know more about was the man hosting the party. Psychologically speaking. She knew things _about_ him, like who his spouse was and how long he had been working for the First Order. That wasn’t enough to work with though. Was he the type of person to bring his work home with him? If yes, she might be able to get all that she needed tonight. If not, she’d have to use the party to somehow get an invitation to another event that had better odds. Which would be a pain in the ass, but she could probably do it. Probably.

Or…

If she wanted to go the espionage route, she could spend the night scoping out the right people and talking information out of them. That wouldn’t be the most ideal situation since she preferred to blend in, and she didn’t want too many people remembering her face. But depending on what she heard, it could be the better option. In the long run, she decided the best course of action would be to try to find a computer she could download intel from. Better to not be noticed so she could run more missions for Leia in the future.

She had been in the cockpit for about thirty minutes now and she could hear Poe getting antsy. From what she could tell, BB-8 was reserving power and Poe was pacing. He even came into the cockpit and went to say something before turning around and returning to his restlessness.

Ten minutes later, he came into the cockpit and settled into the copilots’ chair. Veeves raised her eyebrows at him as a question and he shrugged.

“Bored.”

She hummed in response and turned back to her reading. They sat for a few minutes and Poe was, surprisingly, being quiet.

“Hey Veeves.”

Or so she thought.

“Yeah,” she replied, not looking up from the screen.

“So, this party tonight,” he asked as casually as he could and Veeves just rolled her eyes.

“Yeah?”

“It’s gonna be dangerous.” It was a statement, not a question, and she groaned.

 _Great, not this again_ , she thought. “Wait, really? Are you sure? I hadn’t thought about that yet,” she bit out more sarcastically than she had been anticipating and Poe huffed, crossing his arms.

“I’m just saying, I was sent as protection and I’m supposed to just sit here and _not_ protect you? It doesn’t feel right. I should be coming with you, or at least shadowing you.”

Veeves appreciated the thought, she really did. But kriff did this boy did not listen to anything Leia had said before they left. “You were sent to _cover_ me. If I go in there and things don’t go as planned, I will comm you and you’ll get to jump in your X-Wing and cover my escape and save the day. Until then, you have got to let this go.”

Poe sat still for a few seconds, obviously thinking everything over. “Ok. Alright. I’ll stop bringing it up.”

“Good. Things will run a lot smoother if you would just trust me.”

“I trust you,” he said so sincerely that Veeves paused for a moment.

“Thank you,” she replied softly, and Poe smiled and nodded.

“So, what have you been researching?”

“This guy, head of security.” She showed him a holo of the man. “Major Karrack. The party is at his house. At first, I was worried that there wouldn’t be any data on the computers at the house that we could use, but one of my contacts got back to me and they said they know he spends a lot of time working even when he’s not on location. That means work computers at home. If I’m sneaky enough, I can get into his office and get out without anyone noticing and we can be on our way back to base and no one suspects a thing.”

“You think it’ll be easy to get into his office?” He asked and she shrugged.

“Might be, might not be. My guess is ‘might be’. He seems interested in his image and he’s thrown parties like this before. If this one is like any of the previous ones, I’d say it’s going to be more like a local celebrity event than an investors party. I’ll just be another face in the crowd while everyone focuses on all the big-name people there. I do have to get in first though.”

“How do you usually get into these things anyways? I know you said you flirt your way in but it really just…bat your eyelashes and you’re in?” He asked and she laughed.

“Only if I’m lucky. It just depends on the person I’m trying to flirt with. Sometimes I have to sneak in through the back, which isn’t too hard if you time everything right. Sometimes I have to get myself in as someone’s plus one, but I don’t know anyone going to this party. If I have enough time, I can sometimes set up an invitation but we’re practically flying blind, so I’m going to have to make things up as I go tonight. This opportunity fell in our laps.”

Poe sat back in his seat, letting himself think about everything for a moment. He knew he was only there as a precautionary measure, but this was the First Order. And Veeves had said herself she’d never messed with them before. He was worried she didn’t fully realize how dangerous this entire situation was. And he was determined to make sure they both got out of it safely.

“It did. And we’re gonna do everything we can to make sure it goes right,” he said, feeling fired up. His sudden conviction made Veeves pause.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, really. You got a map of this city?”

“Yep, let me pull it up.”

He knew her plan really did have to be more on-the-fly, but that’s not what had been bothering him. He was worried something would happen and he wouldn’t know about it and if she got caught h-

He needed to get his thoughts under control.

He still had reservations about the plan that Veeves had been cooking up. Not because it was bad, but because he didn’t know enough about it. He wasn’t about to step on her toes anymore though, and decided he was going to make sure he would be well-informed. He had promised to stop bothering her about coming along, but he hadn’t promised to stop asking questions entirely.

He shot her question after question about things like where her travel path would take her through the city and her escape routes from the party.

“So, no map of this guys’ place,” he stated, and she nodded but still showed him a basic map.

“Not an official one. All I have are holos of previous events, so I put together a rough map of the known areas. There really wasn’t much to work with, but it’s better than nothing,” she said as he took the holopad from her and examined the map with interest.

They had spent the past hour going over everything in excruciating detail until Poe felt more comfortable staying behind and they were having a late lunch in the cockpit, their feet kicked up on bare parts of the console while they reclined in their respective spots. He had asked her to tell him some smuggling stories and he told her a bit about his time as a pilot for the New Republic and joining the Resistance. Their conversation settled on the Resistance for a bit until Poe put his feet down and sat forward, looking at her intently.

“What?” She asked after a moment of his awkward staring.

“I’m still trying to figure out how you know Leia. Because she obviously knows you. Personally. Did you run a job for her before or something?” He asked and Veeves chuckled.

“No, she saved my life once.”

Poe sat back in his seat and smiled. “You have to tell me that story now,” he jokingly demanded and looked at her expectantly, making her huff a laugh out.

“Ok, ok. So. Picture this. 20-year-old Veeves. One year of smuggling under her belt, cocky as all hell, no idea what’s going on but just flying with it anyways.”

Poe was already laughing at her story, so she continued. “So, I’m traveling, and I didn’t refuel because I thought that I’d be fine and make it to the next system with more than enough fuel left over. I was wrong, obviously, and got stuck in the middle of nowhere in the outer rim with nothing close by. Totally stranded. I had sent out a distress signal, but no one was responding. A couple of days later, I’m panicking and scared and I get angry and throw something and it punctures a tube, started spraying stuff everywhere. So I’m freaking out trying to patch it up when I hear a comm call coming in. I pick it up and someone says ‘Hey, you need help to the nearest system?’ and in my eloquence, I say ‘Take a wild karking guess!’”

Poe cracked up at that and Veeves couldn’t help but laugh too. “It gets better. They got real sassy and asked if I wanted their help or if I was just going to keep the attitude so I told them to take their help and shove it up their ass. They still helped me, as you can see, since I’m still alive. But yes. That’s how I met Han Solo,” she said with a flourish and Poe was still laughing at her expense, and she let him.

“Ha-Oh Maker, you said all that to Han Solo? That’s hilarious,” he snickered and Veeves smiled.

“Yeah, it was pretty funny. He loves to bring it up whenever he sees me.”

“So you met Han Solo, and you met Leia through him?” He guessed, still chuckling.

“Hm. Yeah. He took me to Leia once we realized I had inhaled too much of what was leaking out of the tube. I actually got pretty sick,” she said quietly, and Poe stopped smiling as she spoke, taking in the gravity of what she had said. “She made sure I had really good med care and took me into her own home so I could rest until I was ready to fly again. I owe everything to them. So, when Leia called to ask for my help, I came, no questions asked.”

“She’s a good person like that,” Poe thought out loud.

“One of the very best.”

They both smiled fondly as they thought about the General and what she meant to them and everyone else in the galaxy that knew her.

Their conversation took a more lighthearted turn after that and they discussed the different benefits of waking up early verses sleeping in. Veeves was of the mindset that one should wake up when they wake up, preferring to let the body decide when it’s best to start the day. Poe, on the other hand, wouldn’t hear of not having a structured wake up time, preferably earlier, if possible.

All the talking of time made Veeves wonder exactly what time it was right then.

“Two more hours to kill,” she grumbled, and Poe rolled his eyes.

“Two more hours for _you_ to kill. You’ll be gone for hours. I have a lot more time to have nothing to do.”

“Just find something to do on the ship. BB-8 is here, and my room has some things. I have a couple of books you can read,” she said offhandedly, and Poe spun around to look at her.

“You have books?” He asked, suddenly very curious. Books weren’t a common sight, and they were usually pretty expensive if they were in decent condition. Veeves shrugged.

“Only two. They were payment for a job a few years back.”

“What kind of a job had books as payment?” Poe asked, mostly just genuinely curious.

“The kind of job where the person was so desperate and had nothing left in the galaxy but a couple of books. They wouldn’t let me do it for free.” The two were silent for a long moment before Veeves cleared her throat. “I also have some holomovies you can look through. You won’t be too bored.”

A few seconds of silence passed again before Poe spoke.

“Hey, how come you’re only telling me about this now? I was bored all day and suddenly I’m hearing about books and holomovies?” He practically whined and Veeves rolled her eyes.

“I didn’t tell you because you didn’t complain enough. Congrats though, you finally bothered me enough that you’re allowed to do more stuff on the ship now. Keep it up and you’ll get a slap next,” she said as sarcastically as possible and Poe grumbled.

“Someone’s snarky.”

“I’m snarky all the time,” she pointed out and he snorted.

“Yeah, I’m starting to notice that,” he said and she raised her eyebrows at him, making him laugh. “Not that I’m complaining or anything. It’s fun.”

“Well,” she said as she crossed her arms. “It’s nice that you can at least keep up with the snark and sass,” she joked, and he mock gasped.

“You thought I wouldn’t be able to keep up? Oh, I’m just getting started,” he practically purred and Veeves was clad she had control over her composure, because if she didn’t, she probably would have shivered as he spoke. _Quick, think of something to say!_

“You’re ridiculous, Poe Dameron.”

 _The way his name sounded coming from her lips_ , Poe thought to himself. _Kriff_.

“You know, I don’t know your last name,” he said as he leaned forward the tiniest bit.

“It’s Leithum,” she said, and Poe smiled.

Leithum. What a name. He loved it. Loved the way it sounded with her first name. He just had to say it.

“Veeves Leithum. Sounds nice,” he practically whispered, making Veeves’ brain scramble.

“Thanks,” she said with a shy smile.

At some point in their conversations, they had migrated from the cockpit to the table and were sitting across from each other. They held eye contact for the briefest moment and Veeves could tell she was about to start blushing, so she tried to think of a clever distraction.

“You want some tea?”

Ok, not the cleverest thing to say, but a distraction, nonetheless. She stood up quickly and began the process of making tea for the both of them.

“Yeah, that sounds nice. I’m enjoying drinking it so often,” he said as he turned to watch her put everything together, interested in how she made it.

“I’ll have to make sure you take some to take with you when we get back to base,” she said with a smile and Poe’s heart thumped.

All he managed to get out was “Thanks.”

They relaxed at the table together and drank their tea, Veeves with her holopad and Poe gently leafing through one of the books that she had pulled out for him.

Veeves was happy they were sitting together. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but she was nervous about tonight, and having company helped. For the briefest moment earlier that day, she had thought about the First Order and was stricken with a ‘what have I gotten myself into?’ thought but had shaken it away. She had tried to play it cool and had succeeded most of the day, but when she let her mind wander, she got anxious. _Keep your cool, girl_ , she thought to herself a few times, trying to relax. It was just a party, which she could handle. It was just another job, and this time, she had backup. Everything would be fine.

They spent their time in silence, each of them totally engrossed in what they were reading. After a while though, the silence had to be broken.

Veeves checked the time and as she stood up, Poe looked at her.

“It’s close enough to time. I’m going to get ready.”

“Ok, I’ll be here,” he said with a smile as he turned back to the book.

As she walked to her bedroom, she pulled her hair down from its braid and Poe couldn’t help but watch. Once she disappeared through the door, Poe let out a huff and slumped down in his seat. Tonight was going to be stressful. _She wasn’t even taking a weapon_ , he thought to himself. He understood why she couldn’t, what with the inevitable security, but still. He would just have to be prepared for whatever came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to know what y'all think! Hope everyone's enjoying it. I'm having a lot of fun writing this story.


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